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( Kingdom of Prussia)
The Kingdom of Prussia (German Königreich Preußen) was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and, from 1871, was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising almost two-thirds of the area of the empire. It took its name from the territory of Prussia, although its power base was Brandenburg. The new Kingdom of Prussia was very poor – still having not fully recovered from the devastation of the Thirty Years’ War – and its territory was scattered across over 1200 km (750 mi) from the lands of the Duchy of Prussia on the south-east coast of the Baltic Sea, to the Hohenzollern heartland of Brandenburg, to the exclaves of Cleves, Mark and Ravensberg in the Rhineland. In 1708, approximately one third of the population of the Duchy of Prussia fell victim of the bubonic plague. The plague reached Prenzlau in August 1710, but eventually receded before it could reach the capital Berlin, which was only 80 km (50 mi) away. During this time, the trends set in motion by the Great Elector reached their culmination, as the Junkers, the landed aristocracy, were welded to the Prussian Army. In 1740, King Frederick II (Frederick the Great) came to the throne. Using the pretext of a 1537 treaty (vetoed by Emperor Ferdinand I) by which parts of Silesia were to pass to Brandenburg after the extinction of its ruling Piast dynasty, Frederick invaded Silesia, thereby beginning the War of the Austrian Succession. After rapidly occupying Silesia, Frederick offered to protect Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria if the province were turned over to him. The offer was rejected, but Austria faced several other opponents, and Frederick was eventually able to gain formal cession with the Treaty of Berlin in 1742.
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The Kingdom of Heaven by Steven Sadleir
After years of studying and writing about world religions and spiritual paths a common message appears in each of the world’s major teachings, whether it be an eastern or western religion, spiritual group or master, and that is that one day we humans...
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